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and 73 answers

Can these be used outside on a fence gate.? Will rain or the elements affect its operation

A shopper
on Dec 17, 2016

BEST ANSWER:Keep in mind though that batteries typically don't do well in cold weather. So the battery performance for the sensor will likely be poor if it gets cold. I don't have any specific numbers at this time, but it is something to keep in mind with battery powered devices that are outside.

BEST ANSWER:Keep in mind though that batteries typically don't do well in cold weather. So the battery performance for the sensor will likely be poor if it gets cold. I don't have any specific numbers at this time, but it is something to keep in mind with battery powered devices that are outside.

I’ve been using 2 of these for the outdoor gates, open to the Canadian elements and they’ve survived for over a year. I coated the outside seams and screw with silicone. Also works for the garage door open/close detection.

I have the original version of Piper and these do work! I only purchased one to start just make sure all was working OK. Very easy to setup with Piper and only too a minute or so. Will be purchasing 6 more in the immediate future. You save about $15 per device going with Monoprice rather than buying from Piper's online store.

While I can't speak to your particular system, I have used this with two systems without error, HomeController Z by Homeseer and a smartstick by Aeon labs, so I am relatively certain it complies with any product following the standard.

I don't have a Piper system but according to their website it is not on their list of supported devices as of yet. That doesn't mean it won't connect necessarily just that they won't help or support it,

No. I have all of mine on scenes that trigger a AEOTEC doorbell to ring and send a notification of which door/window has been opened furthermore not when the House Mode is set to Home. I use a Vera Plus controller, BTW.

Nor will any other sensor that I am aware of. The two most common approaches employ either a switch (usually magnetic) that is either on/off (aka open/closed) or a tilt sensor that also only has two states... open or closed. PS the external switch mode is DISABLED by default and depending upon your software, may be difficult or impossible to activate. HOWEVER, the device is VERY EASY to disassemble and the wires to the internal relay are long enough to solder to once you cut the existing relay out. The only tricky part is routing the wires out of the enclosure without getting in the way of the tamper sensor. ANYBODY HERE use HOMESEER 3?

That makes sense. It's misleading that Monoprice includes in their description that z-wave Plus devices act as repeaters without also stating "except these battery only devices". Thanks for your answer.

That makes sense. It's misleading that Monoprice includes in their description that z-wave Plus devices act as repeaters without also stating "except these battery only devices". Thanks for your answer.

BEST ANSWER:Thank you for your question. This Z-Wave sensor would be compatible with Smartthings. I would recommend following the proper inclusion and exclusion process as stated in the manual specific to your controller in order to add the sensor.

BEST ANSWER:Thank you for your question. This Z-Wave sensor would be compatible with Smartthings. I would recommend following the proper inclusion and exclusion process as stated in the manual specific to your controller in order to add the sensor.

Does the internal board have connection points to allow connecting existing prewired sensors?

A shopper
on Jul 23, 2017

BEST ANSWER:Yes, although I would say not "poke out" a piece of plastic but likely use a drill and be REALLY careful not to drill into the sensors. The plastic is reasonably thick and has to be removed to put the wires into the contact connections. I will say, the connections are great and very secure but you need precision screwdriver for the screws.

BEST ANSWER:Yes, although I would say not "poke out" a piece of plastic but likely use a drill and be REALLY careful not to drill into the sensors. The plastic is reasonably thick and has to be removed to put the wires into the contact connections. I will say, the connections are great and very secure but you need precision screwdriver for the screws.

I agree with John G below, yes it has provisions and I was able to "poke out" the plastic by twisting a sharp knife in the area of the hole. NOW if we could just get John to explain to us how he went about ACTIVATING the external switch mode!!!! Because it is OFF by default.

BEST ANSWER:Once added to your Z-wave controller. Set Configuration parameter 1 to (0xFF - Hexidecimal) or (255 - Decimal) with byte size 1 to enable the external sensor. To disable set it to (0x00 - Hexidecimal) or (0 - Decimal) I have succesufully done this using Homeseer. I got the information from the Device Handler written for SmartThings.

BEST ANSWER:Once added to your Z-wave controller. Set Configuration parameter 1 to (0xFF - Hexidecimal) or (255 - Decimal) with byte size 1 to enable the external sensor. To disable set it to (0x00 - Hexidecimal) or (0 - Decimal) I have succesufully done this using Homeseer. I got the information from the Device Handler written for SmartThings.

I feel your pain... same issue here. Asked my s/w manufacturer and Monoprice for help... They pointed fingers. So I cut the existing relay out of the circuit and soldered in wires to my external switch. Hey, not pretty but it works.

Thanks for the info. Apparently it can be done with Vera, but my system is Homeseer. I think this is the only thing I've found that Homeseer cannot accomplish. I need to find a friend with Vera, activate it, then put it on my system.

BEST ANSWER:Mine has lasted through a Maine winter and a good part of this summer on the original batteries. During the winter, it regularly reported 30-40degree F temperatures, so the battery got good and cold. Of course, we weren’t opening and closed that door a lot over the winter, but I have not seen much effect this summer when we are opening and closing the door frequently.

BEST ANSWER:Mine has lasted through a Maine winter and a good part of this summer on the original batteries. During the winter, it regularly reported 30-40degree F temperatures, so the battery got good and cold. Of course, we weren’t opening and closed that door a lot over the winter, but I have not seen much effect this summer when we are opening and closing the door frequently.

For the doors that I open regularly (the one I use everyday entering/leaving), it's a bit under a year on the batteries that came with the device. For doors that get opened less regularly, the batteries will probably last about a year and a half. They don't seem to last nearly as long as some of the motion sensors that use CR123 batteries.

Had 10 of these on my windows since last August so going on a year and no replacement needed as of yet. These windows are occasionally opened only. The status in my Smartthings app has said 100% since day one so I check them from time to time to make sure they are still reporting.

BEST ANSWER:My device is in a mailbox (non-metal) at about the same range... maybe a little more. It worked pretty well at first and then ... not so well. I ended up placing another Z Wave plus outlet near the front door to act as a repeater. That seems to have solved the problem. WALLS can be your problem and the range will depend upon the material and density of everything between the last repeater and the switch... hope this helps. OH YESS, the THEORETICAL range you will see listed a 100 meters. But this is open air best case conditions.

BEST ANSWER:My device is in a mailbox (non-metal) at about the same range... maybe a little more. It worked pretty well at first and then ... not so well. I ended up placing another Z Wave plus outlet near the front door to act as a repeater. That seems to have solved the problem. WALLS can be your problem and the range will depend upon the material and density of everything between the last repeater and the switch... hope this helps. OH YESS, the THEORETICAL range you will see listed a 100 meters. But this is open air best case conditions.

Mine is on the front door, which is about 55'- 60' from the panel. It doesn't work 100% of the time. There are no Z-Wave devices between the front door and the panel, which would probably help, since they are supposed to act as relays.

BEST ANSWER:not sure, although it is an excellent inexpensive sensor for use with SmartThings, extremely long battery life. Vivint uses a different (345mhz) transmission frequency I believe. You'd need to check with monoprice on it's transmission capabilities...

BEST ANSWER:not sure, although it is an excellent inexpensive sensor for use with SmartThings, extremely long battery life. Vivint uses a different (345mhz) transmission frequency I believe. You'd need to check with monoprice on it's transmission capabilities...

BEST ANSWER:Hello, thank you for your question. The Z-Wave Plus Door/Window Sensor is compatible with a wide range of Z-wave hubs/controllers including the Z-stick. I would recommend following the proper inclusion and exclusion process as stated in the manual specific to your controller in order to add the sensor.

BEST ANSWER:Hello, thank you for your question. The Z-Wave Plus Door/Window Sensor is compatible with a wide range of Z-wave hubs/controllers including the Z-stick. I would recommend following the proper inclusion and exclusion process as stated in the manual specific to your controller in order to add the sensor.

BEST ANSWER:Hello, at the moment we do not have the manual available on our website. Feel free to contact our technical support team for further assistance in regards to obtaining the documentation via any of the methods available here:

BEST ANSWER:Hello, at the moment we do not have the manual available on our website. Feel free to contact our technical support team for further assistance in regards to obtaining the documentation via any of the methods available here:

I purchased two of these. The first switch installed as a generic z-wave switch. Has anyone else experienced this and I'm assuming a reset is the way to correct the situation?? That's my first issue. The second switch installed as a Z-Wave Plus Door/Window Sensor as it should. But it appears open in SmartThings when it's closed and closed when it is open. How do I correct that? I'm using a v2 SmartThings Hub. Thanks in advance for help on both of these.

BEST ANSWER:Since i can't add a link in this answer, Google --> "account smartthings", should be the first thing that comes up and click that. Should be a link to ACCOUNT.SMARTTHINGS DOT COM. From here just login and then go to "My Devices" in the main header of the site, from there click on the device you want to change. After you have done this click the "Edit" button on the bottom of that device's page. From there you should be able to swap the "Type" field to "Z-Wave Plus Door/Window Sensor". From here just click the "Update" button and you should be all fixed and can close out the site.

BEST ANSWER:Since i can't add a link in this answer, Google --> "account smartthings", should be the first thing that comes up and click that. Should be a link to ACCOUNT.SMARTTHINGS DOT COM. From here just login and then go to "My Devices" in the main header of the site, from there click on the device you want to change. After you have done this click the "Edit" button on the bottom of that device's page. From there you should be able to swap the "Type" field to "Z-Wave Plus Door/Window Sensor". From here just click the "Update" button and you should be all fixed and can close out the site.

BEST ANSWER:Not easily, but there are tutorials online that explain how to an old DSC panel with SmartThings by using an Envisalink board and a Node server -- it's a technically complicated solution, but it can be done. Obviously, you have to enroll the Monoprice sensor in SmartThings for this pairing to work. Search for posts by RedLoro on smartthings community pages.

BEST ANSWER:Not easily, but there are tutorials online that explain how to an old DSC panel with SmartThings by using an Envisalink board and a Node server -- it's a technically complicated solution, but it can be done. Obviously, you have to enroll the Monoprice sensor in SmartThings for this pairing to work. Search for posts by RedLoro on smartthings community pages.

Bought 3 of these, they are incredibly unreliable, not registering the correct state constantly. I tried setting one up with an external sensor.... that also does not work. Save your money an avoid this sensor.

It works with smartthings hub 2018. This sensor is not in the list of support brands in smarttings app. Just choose one of the brand in the list has Z wave device can link it to smartthings. Once it is linked, it works perfectly. I use it as garage door sensor. It works every time.

I purchased with the intent to solely use the 'external sensor' terminals only: I didn't care about the magnetic sensor part (i.e. I wanted the sensor to trigger with a simple CLOSE event of the contact wires), which worked beautifully!

First things first, you have to enable the external sensor via your automation platform (I use Openhab) - They're disabled by default . For me, I had to then remove and re-install the battery for the setting to take effect. The software reported the change was applied, but, it wasn't until I took the battery out and back in that the external sensor contacts functioned.

I taped the magnet part to the side of the sensor body so it will always be there: This is required in my case because the sensor will only show CLOSED when the magnet is in proximity to the sensor !!AND!! the terminal contacts are closed. If just one is OPEN, then the sensor will read OPEN.

Although I didn't need it, the magnetic sensor part looked like it would perform well enough. If you must know what I used this for... I've used them for two things:

1) I installed a relay on my smoke detectors, connected through Interconnect, that creates a CLOSE condition on two of its wires. I connected these to this sensor - Boom, automation communication with ALL of my smoke detectors.

2) I needed to install a wall switch to control a newly installed recessed can light, and it was impossible to get any kind of cable to the location we wanted the switch. I wired the light to a smart switch in the attic. Then I cut in a single gang box at the problematic location and installed an old fashioned ON/OFF wall switch. - connected to this sensor inside the switch box. Through automation rules, I can now control the light above.